


Working it Out

by danvssomethingorother



Series: Freed Birds [2]
Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: I can't just have them there and not imply it, M/M, families coming together, maybe some implied Pete/Billy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-10-26 12:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17745539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danvssomethingorother/pseuds/danvssomethingorother
Summary: Getting together after watching a bad porno was the easy part, taking the next step in their relationship and telling their friends and family is the hard part.





	1. The first confessions

“So, are you ever going to tell the boys?” 

Rusty glanced up from the microscope he had been absorbed in, he gave Brock a questioning stare only making his expression harden. 

“About what you have been up to with Orpheus.” 

“The boys don’t need to know about Daddy’s sex life,” he said in a dismissive tone, trying and failing to wave Brock off to go back to his work. 

“Sex life,” Brock grumbled sarcastically making Rusty turn a glare to his body guard, dropping his work entirely now, grumbling under his breath as he got up in a huff. 

“So, what are you going to just keep them out of the loop and hope they don’t walk in on you holding hands with another man?” 

“You should be a little bit more worried about it being walking in on something dirtier,” Rusty said with a raise of his eyebrow and a playful meow at the end of his sentence. Brock looked less then convinced, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling, taking a deep breath. 

“No, I doubt they will walk in on anything like that.” 

Rusty scoffed loudly at Brock folding his arms and pouting as they left the lab together, Rusty knew he would have to tell the boys eventually. He would have to let this cat out of the bag eventually, but he didn’t know if he would ever be prepared for any of the backlash that might come.  
\---  
“You being gay, saw it coming but was Venture really your first choice?” 

Orpheus glared towards his friends having their laugh at his choice in relationships. Al was snickering so hard his tea was splattering all over Orpheus’s couch making him glare harder at the man. Jefferson seemed more composed, but it was clear he hadn’t worked through his initial confusion and shock at his news to his team. 

Orpheus would be turning fifty within a year, that was far too old to be hiding someone he loved. It was too old to be sneaking around with another man, hiding him from friends and family alike. He had told his Thaddeus this and he didn’t seem ready but Byron was ready. He was going to ease the news on everyone, gently coax his lover into doing the same. He hadn’t told his pumpkin yet, he hoped to tell them when Thaddeus got his boys involved, he hoped to bring their families together. 

He and Thaddeus were much closer after months of this hidden relationship but Orpheus felt they should bring their children on it now. They couldn’t hope to hide it forever from the people they loved.  
So far only Brock knew and now his friends would know, hopefully soon it wouldn’t be a secret from anyone. 

“You went from chasing around fine women like Tatyana to just settling for him?” 

Jefferson shook his head setting down his beer (without setting it on the coaster provided to Orpheus’s chagrin), he didn’t seem particularly opposed to the idea of his friend and colleague dating another man, his confusion stemmed from him being attracted to Thaddeus. 

“The man isn’t even nice to you, he doesn’t have looks or class, is this some kind of weird midlife crisis?” 

“Maybe he wants to get his money before he swindles the last of it on get rich schemes,” Al continued to snicker and Jefferson finally broke, snickering as well but Orpheus was far from amused. 

“Gentleman, please, can we be adults about this?” 

He tried to speak evenly but the words came out like a crack of thunder, echoing through his home making his cat hiss loudly in annoyance bolting from the chair next to him. 

“Come on Orpheus,” Al bemoaned leaning forward and staring his friend in the eyes, “You can’t just jump into relationships because your land lord is lonely. How is this a good idea? Do you know how much baggage that guy is carrying?” 

“You sir are one to talk! You got with your current beau because he was and I quote your words, ‘easy on the eyes and easy in the bed’.” 

Al took a deep breath falling backwards on the couch once more, “So what, is this just a physical relationship?” 

He paused a moment a smarmy smile gracing his lip making Orpheus’s blood pressure rise, “Has he given you a Rusty Venture yet? Please tell me he’s done that.” 

“Do I even want to know what a Rusty Venture is?” Orpheus grumbled pinching his nose in frustration. 

“Oh, you will know when you get one and he would know what it is.” 

“Do I even wanna know what yer talking about?” Jefferson growled out side eying Al, he had learned long ago their friend was an encyclopedia when it came to foul sex acts. 

Orpheus began tuning them out as they began bantering back and forth, glancing at a framed picture of his daughter and him on the wall, so far it wasn’t going as well as he would have hoped with his friends, he could only hope it would go better with his pumpkin. She tended to be more mature then his team mates.  
\---  
A seedy hotel off the highway was hardly the place Orpheus wanted to meet up with his lover for the evening, especially considering they lived in the same facility, but it would have to do for now. He hoped this would be the last time they did this, he would make certain it was tonight. 

Thaddeus had arrived earlier then himself and had graciously paid for their room ahead of time, Orpheus couldn’t help but feel shame walking up the creaking steps, his grip tightened on his key to the room. It was degrading to meet up with someone he loved like this, to know his friends were probably still having a laugh about it, their love shouldn’t be something they needed to hide and something others poked fun at. 

He took a deep breath to collect himself before opening the door, frowning not seeing Rusty in the one bed hotel room, the old beat up TV was picking up nothing but static making the scene more ominous then romantic. Orpheus walked towards the bathroom door and gently rapped on it with his knuckles resting his hand on the door and listening to the small splash of water, smiling knowing Thaddeus had gone straight to clean up after arriving. 

“Oh, don’t bother knocking!” he couldn’t help but smile at his lover’s annoyed tone, “Just come in!” 

“I would rather not just barge in while you are indecent,” Orpheus reprimanded him with a gentle smile as swept into the room, locking the door in case anyone else came in behind him. 

“Its nothing you haven’t seen before,” Thaddeus almost purred sitting up in the water, his look inviting but Orpheus chose instead to sit on the toilet seat and not look directly at the man he loved in what was a private moment. 

“I thought you would never get here,” he groaned out sinking into the water again, Orpheus turned a concerned look at him hearing the creak of his joints. 

“I apologize for my tardiness,” he began but chuckled as Thaddeus flicked his wrist towards him, swatting away his attempts at excuses. 

“Don’t you throw those excuses at me, I had a million things to wrap up, two smart mouth boys to get in their learning beds and I had to deal with Brock who thinks it’s a ‘dumb idea for me to leave the compound to be with my boyfriend’ and you couldn’t even hocus pocus right here?” 

“My powers are a bit more complex then that,” Orpheus chuckled, taking in the other man too enthralled by him to be frustrated with him, “I don’t ask why you can’t science a solution why we can’t just meet in our homes.”  
Thaddeus shot him a glare but it wilted as he sank his head a little deeper in the water, his knobby knees surfacing and bobbing nervously. Drifting into deeper emotions often left the other man adrift. He was afraid of change and dealing with anything different emotionally. 

Gently he placed his hand on the other man’s knee and squeezed it. He smiled feeling Thaddeus shift in the water, placing his hand on top of the other man’s and squeezing tightly. 

“It didn’t go so smooth with your team did it?” he grumbled turning his head towards him, squinting at what must have been Orpheus’s blurred form without his glasses. 

“It could have been better,” he sighed out. 

“Uh huh,” Thaddeus sighed out pulling at his hand, “Just join me before the water goes cold.” 

Orpheus smiled bending down to give the other man a kiss on the lips. They were men who had made it through worse, slowly bringing their closest friends and family into their relationship shouldn’t be that hard.


	2. Telling Pete

It was so strange to feel wanted. To feel safe and secure and not like the world could crash down any moment. To have a reason to care if the world crashed down for once.

Rusty found himself snuggling closer to the man as he slept, that warm content feeling patched up the void, made him feel more alive then he had in years. He hadn’t felt this way since college, like there was something to look forward to in tomorrow. He rested his hand on Orpheus’s cheek as he slept, memorizing every feature, kissing him on the lips not even wincing at the foul morning breath that hit him. Being alive, being Rusty Venture had become such a chore over the years, it became draining but being with Orpheus made it bearable.

He knew he would never be able to show his gratitude. This was probably never meant to last, so he would just enjoy it while he could.

“Frisky before I even rise?”

Rusty pulled away a little embarrassed as Orpheus began to shake himself awake surprising Rusty a little when he pulled him into a kiss.

“You already got me out of my speed suit,” he breathed huskily into his ear.

“I am afraid I must decline that offer this morning,” Orpheus said with a chuckle pressing a firm kiss on Rusty’s crinkling forehead, his disappointment clear.

“Our stay here is drawing to an end, we must make haste back home to get things in order.”

“What are you ---” Rusty began sitting up and giving the man an even glare but he was cut off as Orpheus, in that cheesy romantic way he did everything, eased his glasses on his face.

“I grow tired of only being allowed to hold you in foul hotel rooms, we should be able to stay home without fear of our children, the most important aspects of our lives, seeing our love.”

Rusty cringed a little at that, not even able to properly enjoy Byron’s shirtless form, he didn’t know if he would ever be ready for this. He could just imagine his sons’ constant questions, Dean’s freak out he was going to be related to his crush. Brock was honestly the only person he was comfortable telling anything and thanks to his astute nature, he never had to tell him anything, he just knew. Everyone else in his life would make a big thing about it and that was a head ache.

He felt the other man gently cup his cheek and kiss him on the bridge of his nose, silently telling him it would be fine. Rusty scoffed at that, it was never that easy, but it did make it easier for him to get redressed and make the journey back home without Byron.

\---

Rusty was self centered and he could own up to that.

He had been raised to be this way but too much of a coward to seek change and break from the cycle of abuse.To be anything more then a bad person, to be better then his own father before him.

He didn’t often think about anyone other then himself. When he had first been handed the boys by his old girlfriend who didn’t have room in her home or heart for them, he had tried to be better. It was hard but he had tried, each death just made him more apathetic towards parenthood making him finally understand why Billy had left the way she did, leaving what could have been her family with Myra and someone like him.

He had promised Orpheus he would tell everyone about them but right now, sitting in the lab, fiddling away with another half-baked business idea attempting to get Venture Industries back on the map, it was the last thing on his mind. Another item on his to do list he didn’t really plan to complete.

He didn’t look up from his work hearing someone enter, it was probably Brock.

He was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t, his scowl wouldn’t hold from being interrupted when Orpheus wrapped his arm around him in only the way he could and placed a kiss on his head.

“I hope I am not interrupting,” he began a tinge of annoyance at the edge of his tone.

“Don’t come in here making demands, mister,” Rusty said squarely, cutting him off not wanting to hear about how he wasn’t keeping his end of the bargain, turning around so they could both glare at each other, “Do you realize---”

“No,” Orpheus said gripping Rusty’s shoulders firmly, “Your tomfoolery can wait. Hear me now Thaddeus Venture, I will not be meeting you at hotels of questionable reputation any longer!”

“Are you saying you are holding our sex life hostage until I talk to the boys?” Rusty grumbled out with a roll of his eyes.

“Sex Life??!” Orpheus bellowed making Rusty slap his hand over his mouth as it echoed through the lab. Orpheus was quick to slap his hand away making Rusty growl lowly in frustration.

“Our relationship is more then just sex, sir!”

“Do you have to do that here?!” Rusty hissed at him clenching his fists tight as he rose from his spot, continuing to glare at the other man. He didn’t know why he was acting like this, it had only been a few days since he had agreed to tell the boys about them. He was hardly giving him enough time.

Orpheus took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, choosing to let it go. He was getting better about not rising to Rusty’s bait, Rusty was almost sure only Brock had wised up to his routine of getting out of things, but it seemed Orpheus was slowly wising up to it. Maybe he would take the bait but would pull away before Rusty could real him in with his distractions.

“I shall give you a little more time to evaluate what our relationship means to you.”

He left without any show of affection or giving Rusty a chance to argue, just a simple ultimatum, move towards bringing their families into the mix or they were done.

\---

Rusty hadn’t hid from one of his lovers at a bar since Myra. He hadn’t had a lover since Myra either, so there was that too.

At the fifth suffering bastard, he was feeling his age, falling off the bar stool and the bar tender cut him off. It felt too early to return home, Brock had told him to come back home sober this time, he didn’t want him ‘making a scene’ in front of the boys about his new relationship (and how it was already dying). Some bodyguard he was, he said he didn’t want to come, not even to give him moral support, he didn’t want to deal with his relationship problems at all.

“Is there someone who is going to come pick up this suffering bastard?”

Rusty vaguely remembered flipping off the bartender and picking himself off the ground, not bothering to pick up the stool that had come down with him. He didn’t really want to go home, he knew Brock would just find him himself if it got too late, so he didn’t have to fear passing out somewhere and having to find a way home the next morning. Brock was always very good at finding him and hell who knows, maybe Orpheus would find him this time. Maybe he wanted to test if he would come looking for him, if he was worried about him.

He was drunk enough to give anything a try but had enough wits about him to not want to stay at a bar that wouldn’t serve him anymore drinks anyway.

Later he wouldn’t remember getting a cab, but he sure couldn’t tell you how he ended up at Pete’s trailer. That was the only way he could have got there, though, since his car remained parked outside the bar.

“Ah jeez, Rust,” Pete sighed out loudly as he opened the door finally after Rusty pounded on it, impatiently just wanting him to open up.

Rusty didn’t even ask permission first, he just shoved his way into his friend’s home. He didn’t see Billy, so he can only assume he was either asleep or somehow, miraculously not here.

He threw himself on the couch and Pete, looked annoyed by the intrusion but Rusty wasn’t sure if he could ever find the nerve to throw him out.

“You’re not here to rob us, right?” he grumbled throwing himself by Rusty.

“I knocked, didn’t I?” Rusty sneered back, his dramatic hand gesture knocking Pete’s X Box controller off the couch making him groan in annoyance as his game was kicked back on, nearly losing the boss fight he had worked hard to get to.

Pete just gave him a look that held back his arguments about it being midnight and Rusty being drunk and uninvited at his door step.

“Rust,” Pete began but just dropped it. That was what Rusty liked about Pete, he was too cowardly to call him out or even ask him if something was wrong. Avoiding confrontation entirely. Rusty laid his head on his lap as he just went back to his game, Pete knew he was just going to leave on his own, taking nervous glances at his door hoping Brock wasn’t about to break in on them. Pete had always been a little nervous around his bodyguard, while Rusty let the night he pounded their faces in go after he grew to depend on Brock, he knew Pete carried that memory with him. Rusty knew what it was like to carry around trauma, so for once found the courtesy to never poke fun of Pete for it.

“Well since yer here,” Pete sighed out tossing the controller aside as he lost again and the blood splattered screen called him a failure once more, “Ya wanna…?” 

Rusty couldn’t help the chuckle at Pete’s nervous glance down at Rusty, glancing towards his crotch area not that far from where Rusty’s head had collapsed on his thigh.

Rusty and Pete truly were cut from the same, self-absorbed cloth. Too cowardly to reach out to a hurting friend but familiar enough with the other to ask for a sexual favor while he was here.

Rusty didn’t reply to his question, too drunk and defeated for this. He did build up enough courage from drinking to say what was on his mind, an action that threw his friend through a loop by his expression.

“Were you ever mad I never told the boys about what we did?”

“What?” Pete choked hard on the impactions Rusty was throwing at him, jostling Rusty a bit as he jumped.

“Jeezus, Rust,” Pete groaned out making it clear he didn’t want anyone to know about the things the two had done together.

“Why the hell ya bringing this all up?”

Rusty pursed his lips and chose not to say anymore, annoyed the first person he was choosing to tell about he and Orpheus’s relationship was acting this way.

“Forget it,” Rusty grumbled pushing himself up.

“Come on pally, don’t be that way,” Pete snickered pushing Rusty easily back down, “Yer too drunk to be wandering around if yer asking shit like that.”

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity but that was the alcohol’s influence, it was probably only a few seconds. Pete was up and flipping through his impressive stack of records, putting on an old album to get rid of the awkwardness of it all. Rusty showing up drunk wasn’t anything new, Pete was used to it. He was booting up another game, assuming Rusty was just going to pass out on him.

Rusty was just watching his friend, gulping a little remembering his promise to Orpheus.

“I think I’m in love,” he finally mumbled, sitting up and readjusting his glasses as his vision blurred a little, resting his hand on Pete as he settled back down next to him.

Pete just began chuckling as he sat back down, “Who? Does she even know you?”

“Not she,” Rusty snarled at his friend letting his head fall back on his lap finding himself unable to keep it up.

Pete paused his game, once more giving Rusty an odd look, staring at him questioningly at his honesty.

“Are you trying to sleep with Brock again?”

He seemed actually concerned for his friend, staring at him in that genuine way he hadn’t seen from him sine college and they almost considered themselves something more then friends.

“Orpheus,” Rusty moaned back annoyed.

“You’re trying to sleep with the guy who dresses like Dracula now…”

Rusty glared at him, like he was one to talk about his choices in lovers when he was a bleached version of a wannabe vampire himself.

“I already slept with him,” Rusty bemoaned turning his head towards Pete who was just staring off into the distance now, “He wants us to be an actual couple that people know about.”

“Rusty Venture settling into commitment.... how about that....” was all his friend said, he could say whatever he wanted. He knew Rusty was too drunk to remember much in the morning.

His lips were thinning and he almost looked jealous of him. Maybe Rusty was misremembering it but Pete turned a cold shoulder to him after that, going back to his game. Glancing down at his friend then towards an old polaroid of him and Billy, back from their old days as TV stars, tacked on the wall with a deep frown.

Rusty blacked out for a little while almost feeling smug someone, after he had lost the fame and prestige that came with being a child star, was envious of him.

\----

When Pete finally got up to use the restroom, Rusty finally found the courage to click on his communicator and call him. He almost chickened out and called Brock to pick him up instead, but he needed Orpheus.

“Thaddeus,” Byron began as he finally picked up, his blood shot, concerned eyes meeting Rusty’s making his stomach turn again as the anxiety began to pick up.

“I love you,” Rusty found himself choking out, “I don’t want to go back to the way things were.”

Rusty couldn’t recall how Byron found him, taking him home, tenderly putting him to bed. Maybe he made fun of him once for relying on magic mumbo jumbo, but he knew he spent most of the time drunkenly rambling about how he loved him. He didn’t want to go back to only having physical affection with someone equally as miserable as him. He wanted to change.

Maybe he would go back to being himself in the morning, he didn’t know, but for now he knew that was a fact. He was going to change for this man.

Rusty finally regained his senses the next day, he tried to get up but found himself trapped in Orpheus’s strong embrace, his snoring filling the room and almost easing Rusty back to sleep as well.

It the door being flung open and his sons arguing that made his eyes snap open and his muscles tense hard. He felt Orpheus gently messaging the back of his head was flung out of dream land as well by one of his son’s loud voices.

“Why is Mr. Orpheus naked in your bed with you??”

What a situation to wake up to while still nursing a hang over from the night before.


	3. Brock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place earlier in the evening of the previous chapter, yes I know we all want the cliffhanger resolved but I just want a little build up and I don't want to make too long of a chapter. Gonna try to update every Sunday from now on.

“Hey Brock?”

Brock grunted towards Hank, taking a long drag from his cigarette and staring towards the perimeter, frown settled into place. He didn’t know what was wrong with Doc, if he wanted to get drunk, he could have just gone and passed out in the lab like he normally did. He flicked the bud with his fingers and glanced down at his communicator glaring seeing no new messages.

“Is Pop like mad at us?”

“No, yer dad is just…” Brock didn’t know if he should finish that sentence or how to without turning this into a thing. Your dad is being dramatic about finally admitting he’s not straight. Your dad is hiding things from you again. Your dad was diagnosed with stupid at birth and there is no cure. Your dad is being stupid and dramatic again and this could lead to him being hurt.

He glanced at his communicator again and then glared towards Jonas’s statue wondering if he should just go find him, the boys would be fine, it was their idiot father acting like a teenage girl about fighting with his boyfriend who could be in danger.

He snarled lighting up another cigarette, it wasn’t his business who Doc slept with and he was tired of being put in the middle of it.

“Dad is WHAT!” Hank bellowed next to him waving his hand in front of Brock, accidentally wafting a large cloud of second-hand smoke directly into his face sending him into a coughing fit.

Brock rolled his eyes putting out his cigarette prematurely and flicking it away knowing Rusty had always been strict about the whole ‘don’t give this family second hand lung cancer’ thing.

“Yer dad is an idiot,” he finally said pushing Hank back into the house, it was still early in the evening but too late for Brock to be playing twenty questions with his ward.

“We all knew that,” Hank groaned loudly, “But why is he gone like all the time now?”

“Yer dad will tell you when he’s done being stupid.”

“When will that be?” Hank moaned dragging his feet in the carpet refusing to go up the stairs like Brock wanted him to. He couldn’t deal with the boys questions right now or ever, his dad’s sex life was something he needed to explain to them, not him. 

“I don’t know,” Brock sighed out glancing at his communicator once more deciding he was going to find the idiot himself if he didn’t message him soon.

\---

It was around eleven thirty and no sign of Doc, Brock knew he was probably already drunk and since he hadn’t gotten any bragging ransom notes from the Monarch, he knew he was probably just hiding at Pete’s. Not an abnormal thing he did.

Brock growled loudly tossing the knife he had been sharpening into the dead center of the dart board on the wall before getting up. He did a quick on the boys and was pleased to find them still in bed before he left and made his way towards Orpheus’s rented lot on the property.

He didn’t get a chance to knock before the man’s daughter opened the door, looking ready to head out somewhere.

“Oh, um, hey,” she said eying him up and clenching her purse a little at the initial shock of running into the body guard like this, caught in the act of sneaking out. Brock just shoved the teenager back into the house.

He grunted for her to go to bed and even gave her a small smile as her shoulders slumped in defeat, playfully knocking her head in the way he always did to the boys or even their father when they were caught in the act of doing something dumb.

She glanced back at him as he followed her upstairs, but he had no more business with her, she took a small nervous glance at him as he approached her dad’s room but didn’t say anything to him as she ducked into her room.

He pounded once on Orpheus’s door and rolled his eyes hearing him grunting loudly it was too late for Doc’s bullshit. Brock agreed fully with that and that was why he was here to begin with.

“Why hello, Mister Samson,” he greeted him as he opened his bedroom door, his voice thick with sleep and his eyes still drooping, “Is something wrong?”

“This bullshit between you and Doc,” Brock began just jumping into what was wrong, not bothering with pleasantries as he pushed the man back into his room and shut the door to keep his daughter out of this business, “It needs to stop.”

Orpheus frowned towards him taking a deep breath before waving his hand, using his magic to push a chair closer to Brock as he sat back down on the bed.

“Thaddeus and I are going through a bit of a rough patch,” he admitted with a sigh, “But it is nothing you need concern yourself with.”

Brock glared at him, everything about Rusty Venture was his business, whether he wanted to care or not. Rusty getting upset meant he could go off the rails again and Brock never wanted to go back to picking that man off the ground again. Doc’s previous self destructive bursts still weighed heavily on his mind, he wasn’t about to put himself or the boys through them again. As much as he hated to admit it, that little annoying pain in the ass was his family and it was his duty to keep him safe.

“He’s not home, is he?” Orpheus had a small amount of fear in his voice.

Brock just shook his head firmly keeping his pointed glare focused on Orpheus.

“You are not the only one who worries about his safety,” Orpheus said staring firmly at Brock.

“I fear I have pushed him too hard before he was ready,” he sighed out, “But it has been months. I thought that would have been a ---”

Brock cut him off with a wave of his hands, making the other man glare hard at him as he lit up a cigarette in his bedroom.

“Yer damn problem is you are giving him a choice,” Brock said pointing his lit cigarette towards Orpheus, “I have been taking care of this family for nearly twenty years and Doc is the most head strong ass I have ever met.”

“I am not about to force---”

Brock shook his head, blowing a stream of smoke towards the other man who was seething a little.

“I don’t mean you go and beat your boyfriend until he listens to you,” Brock growled making it clear he wasn’t about to allow that, his one regret was not killing Myra when she tried that shit on his family before.

“I mean go talk to the boys your damn self, it would probably be easier on everyone.”

Orpheus didn’t respond to that, flicking his hand and putting the body guard’s cigarette out himself with magic. Brock glanced down at the extinguished flame and sighed getting up.

“I’m done dealing with this shit,” Brock warned as rose from his chair, “Make it work or leave Doc alone, he has enough damn problems I have to deal with.”

With that he flicked his unused cigarette at Orpheus, his way of petty revenge making him deal with Doc’s drama. The night was young, if Doc himself stumbled in soon enough he would probably have some choice words for him too.


	4. Accepting Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be in the boys' POV, its in the works and will be up soon I promise. I just wanted something soft. I wanted Orpheus's perspective of picking up Rusty.

Orpheus had considered going to see the master after Brock had left him, but he wasn’t certain if this was a matter for an all knowing being. He didn’t really want to go to him about relationship advise, maybe if things got worse he would consider but now didn’t feel like the time.

He had fallen into a doze, he had thought it was only a moment, just blinking out of awareness for a moment because of fatigue. He probably would have stayed in his doze longer if not for a loud buzzing from the communicator watch Thaddeus had given ‘just in case of emergencies’ when he had moved in.

“Thaddeus,” he knew by the glaze in his lover’s eyes, he had been drinking, maybe even popping pills again and it made his stomach twist in knots at the thought. If Mr. Samson was concerned about his well being, it must have been bad.

“I love you,” Rusty chocked out making Orpheus’s concern rise at the tears beginning to fall, “I don’t want to go back to the way things were.”

Byron often felt his trauma washing off him as he lay next to him at night, he had felt it the first time he had shook his hand after signing his lease (he often chuckled at Thaddeus’s pushy business tactics). The shadows of the past that blanketed his mind and kept him from moving forward, in their time dating Orpheus had felt the slight shift though. He knew his lover wouldn’t admit it, maybe didn’t notice it, but he was more at ease as he slept lying next to someone who he knew loved him.

He opened his mouth to try to console his now sobbing boyfriend, breaking down far away from him, he tried to tell him he wasn’t about to leave him alone, not now or ever. He rose quickly about to demand where his lover was, he knew he would find him on his own but he would rather build trust.

He couldn’t quite work the words out, feeling intense guilt for not being there already, but he didn’t need to.

“Aw geez Rust,” he heard his lover’s albino friend sigh out and frowned watching his friend knock the communicator from Thaddeus’s hand.

“Ya gotta breath, pally.”

The communicator hadn’t been turned off, just tossed on a side table giving Orpheus view of Pete White pushing his Thaddeus’s head against his shoulder and messaging his head with his fingers humming a song he vaguely recognized as he held him.

He didn’t bother getting dressed, he just slipped his shoes on before collecting himself enough to leave.

He wasn’t surprised at all to find Mr. Samson up and leaning against his car when he finally made his way out of his home. Orpheus sometimes wondered if maybe he had possessed some of the mystic arts to always be as astute as he was about things.

He opened his mouth to inquire about him being up and already having his vehicle ready to leave but he merely grumbled it was one of his ‘hunches’ and shoved him in the passenger seat.

\---

The only light for miles was the faint glow of the Conjectural Technologies sign hovering over the tiny trailer surrounded by miles of desert. Thaddeus’s car wasn’t here but they would have to find that in the morning when they were all ready to deal with it.

Orpheus turned his head towards Brock, questioning if he was going to get out as well.

“I’m not getting involved in this shit,” he grunted at him lighting up a cigarette and cracking a window, popping in another tape and making Orpheus pull a face at the loud screech of guitar that came with it.

“You go clean up this mess. Make sure Doc isn’t passed out in his own vomit in there.”

“That has happened often?” Orpheus said with a sigh.

Mr. Samson merely shrugged, the gleam in his eye showing a dim spark of concern that went out with an exhale of smoke and the volume rising with a quick twist on the radio. Orpheus took that as his cue to exit the vehicle, Mr. Samson would likely only assist him if Thaddeus was injured or somehow, he and White were being terrorized and not before.

Orpheus just left without saying anything else, it wouldn’t do any good anyway, the body guard was here to make certain his charge was alive and nothing more (or so he would admit). Orpheus was here to make sure the person he loved wasn’t in a bad emotional area, not weighing himself down with anxieties.

He tapped his hand against the door, not wishing to be rude and force entry into the home of someone he wasn’t that well acquainted with. He hoped with time both he and Thaddeus could get their closest friends together but that would take time. Byron was a patient man, he could afford to wait.

It only took a moment for White to open the door, he was disheveled and looked almost as rough as he knew Thaddeus was. He didn’t appear to be intoxicated, Orpheus was almost surprised by this since he had walked in on the two drinking heavily together in the past, he looked exhausted though. There were strong emotions rolling off him, almost as strong as Thaddeus’s from inside the trailer.

“Rust, your boyfriend is here,” he called inside pivoting away from Orpheus leaving the door open to reveal his lover passed out across the sofa, rousing from his brief nap.

“Byron…” Rusty groaned out instantly shooting up from the couch and staggering to his feet. Fearing he would fall, Orpheus quickly moved towards him and Thaddeus latched onto his neck and didn’t seem to mind they were in his friend’s living room as he pressed his lips against Orpheus’s.

Orpheus wrapped his arms tightly around him, he had missed holding him, it felt like it had been too long. He caught White’s annoyed stare, giving him an almost glare and he quickly pulled his annoyed lover away, gently pushing him towards the door.

“I thank you for taking care of him before I got here.”

White just gave him a look, one that was almost envious as he felt Thaddeus curling tight against him, resting his head on his shoulder with an absolute look of devotion he hadn’t quite seen from him sober. The albino shrugged trying to pass off a dismissive attitude about it all that didn’t quite come off as he made his way back to the couch, almost defeated and picked up his game controller without another word to them.

\---

Mr. Samson was surprisingly gentle driving on the way home, being actually cautious of the potholes and minding the speed limit unlike the journey here. He had even turned off his music and put out his cigarette. He had a softer interior then most would expect, and he didn’t intend to just physically keep the Venture family from harm, he had proven he was willing to make certain no demons, physical or imaginary harmed them.

Thaddeus had fallen asleep against him in the back seat, head rested on his shoulder and soft snores coming from him. Orpheus’s hand rested on his shoulder a moment, before moving to gently messaging his scalp and placing a kiss his forehead as he slept and found himself smiling at the smile that crept on his lover’s face.

It was a very short ride to the compound, but Orpheus’s exhausted state made him feel like he had lasted forever.

“I am just going to put him to bed and will be on my way,” he said to the body guard who was gracious enough to help him out of the car without jostling his lover in his arms.

“I don’t care what you do,” he grunted back shutting his back door softly and opening the front door for Orpheus, putting his arm on his shoulder making him pause a moment.

“Just think about what I told you.”

Orpheus simply nodded but didn’t answer the body guard, carrying Rusty inside and up the stairs into his bedroom.

He began to stir as he laid him upon his bed gently unzipping his speed suit to try to get him into something a little more comfortable for the evening. Thaddeus began to stir awake the second he slipped one arm out of his cloths making him roll his eyes as he latched onto him.

“Did you magic us here?”

“No, my abilities do not work the way you assume they do,” Orpheus chuckled letting Thaddeus pull him down on to the bed.

“You rely too much on your mumbo jumbo,” Thaddeus slurred yanking at Orpheus, forcing him to lay by him, “You should have something practical…”

Orpheus chuckled helping him out of his speed suit completely and fully intending to leave after he had tucked him under the covers, taking extra care to give him one last kiss before he left. Just a small reminder he loved him dearly.

He was surprised by Thaddeus clinging to him.

“I want to change for you,” he said pulling him closer, his foul intoxicated breath hitting him full force making him cringe a little but he didn’t pull away, “Please stay with me. I never want to be alone again…I love you…”

He was groggily, with shaking hands forcing Orpheus down by him and he obliged pulling him close to him as he babbled about how much he needed him. Thaddeus began popping the buttons off his night shirt laying kisses down his chest, it was rare to see him this affectionate. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been before with him, but he felt softer tonight.

Orpheus shrugged off his night shirt and allowed him to lay on his bare chest, something he knew the man liked to do. He let him run circles across an old scar on his chest with his lithe fingers, relaxing at last after a long night feeling at ease just knowing his Thaddeus was ok. He brushed his fingers across his too thin frame, feeling each bump of his rib from years of Thaddeus’s self abuse, knowing there were always going to be struggles with this man, but he was willing to stick it out if only for quiet moments like this.

“You aren’t like Pete or Myra,” he mumbled, content enough against him to begin to drift off again on his chest, “You aren’t miserable like we are. Why do you want to be with me?”

He didn’t answer that question feeling him slipping asleep once more, he didn’t understand his own self-worth. Orpheus lay awake a little while longer, glancing around the dark room, this room had once been Jonas Venture’s. He had to wonder how many demons were left behind by him, if they still haunted his son.

He pulled him closer, placing a kiss on his head before drifting off, not entirely feeling at ease but feel content knowing Thaddeus put so much trust into him. Much more trust then his wife did before.

He woke to a rude awakening of being caught by his lover’s teenage sons and once more thought of Mr. Samson’s suggestion that it would be better for all of them if he sat the boys down.


	5. The boys P1

“What the heck is up with Pop anyhow.”

Dean looked up from his Giant Boy Detective book as his twin stormed in the room, tossing himself on the bed after his trip down stairs.

“Maybe he’s finding us a new mom,” Dean was almost hopeful about the prospect, he didn’t things were awful the way they were now but he often longed for someone who would be a little more open with their emotions around then the emotionally constipated men in his life.

“No,” Hank grumbled tossing himself on his bed and glaring at the ceiling, “He would be bragging by now if that was the case.”

“Yeah but he’s been in an awful good mood lately.”

It was rare their dad was so happy, he was playing music in the lab again instead of sitting in depressing silence. He had been making them breakfast again instead of leaving that to Helper and even more surprising he had mumbled to them that he loved them one night. It was only a short moment, their dad had been half drunk and he had left the room shortly after but it had been so long since he had done that. He had been sulking a little the past few days but since he had been in a surprisingly happy mood for months now. Dean almost thought he had been replaced by some kind of alien spore, but he liked his upbeat mood too much to investigate further.

“I think he’s about to bolt.”

Dean set his book down staring at his brother with nervous eyes. Their dad leaving had never crossed his mind, he never thought it was even an option. He tightened his hold on his book, thinking of what life without their dad would be like. He was shaking now, a new fear blooming in his mind.

“He wouldn’t do that!”

He shot up from his bed shooting a glare at his brother for even suggesting it, dropping his book on the ground.

“Why else would he be so happy and leaving all the time?”

Hank rolled over in bed, not facing Dean but he could feel his brother’s glare and his new-found anger.

“He’s just gonna leave again and then not come back.”

“Daddy wouldn’t abandon us like that!!”

“He probably found a new family to be happy with, that’s why he’s always leaving at night,” Hank shot at Dean turning his head around, “Why the heck else wouldn’t he take us with him or tell us what he’s doing when he just disappears?”

“Maybe he’s going to give us a big surprise,” Dean sighed out sinking onto his twin’s bed deflated not really believing his own words.

It was no secret their dad was clinically depressed, his mood swings and addiction problems were testament to that. Dean hadn’t seen him truly happy since he was ten, their dad used to smile brightly and want to play with them then, then it just changed and neither twin knew why. Maybe he would just leave them.

Maybe the idea of being free from them was what was putting him in such a happy mood.

\---

Dean sat at the kitchen table, picking apart the peanut butter and jelly sandwich Helper had made for him. Dad was home but he hadn’t come out of his room yet. He glanced towards Hank who was having no problem finishing up his food and asking for seconds with his mouthful and crumbs flying at a less then amused Brock.

“Hank, chew your damn food with your mouth closed.”

Hank gulped down his food and gave a smile to their body guard before loudly demanding helper make him his third sandwich.

“Hey, Brock?”

Brock grunted in Dean’s direction but didn’t say anything more then that, eying the stack of sandwiches the robot tossed in front of him with almost annoyance. Brock had requested several times he make him something more ‘adult’ then the peanut butter and jelly, but he wasn’t listening.

Dean ground his teeth across his lip nervously watching Brock dig through the cabinets, grumbling in annoyance that they had nothing to eat.

“Is daddy feeling better?”

Brock stopped digging through the pantry at the question and Hank set his food down, no longer hungry, looking towards Brock as well.

“Yer dad is fine,” he said pulling a can of tuna and digging in the drawer for a can opener, trying to keep himself busy. Dean knew he was just trying to get out of answering the question. Trying to keep them out of whatever was up with their dad.

“Listen, he’s gonna be acting like ---” he seemed to bite his tongue at whatever he was about to say and quickly reworded, “Grumpy. He’s going to be grumpy today. So just leave him alone and let him rest.”

Dean frowned watching Brock just dump the entire can of tuna on a piece of bread and take a bite of it.

“I’m gonna go do perimeter check. Don’t go near your father, stay inside and no fighting.”

He gave them that look that promised there would be hell to pay if they didn’t do as he said before he left out the back door, taking a large bite out of his sandwich as he went.

Dean glanced at Hank who shrugged, it was pretty clear there was a reason he didn’t want them around their dad right now, but he didn’t want to deal with whatever it was.

Helper began beeping loudly at Dean and he smiled at the robot, taking a bite of his food to make him stop beeping at him.

\---

Dean stood awkwardly in front of his dad’s bedroom door, pressing his ear against it and hearing the ruffling of sheets and faint snores. He frowned, it sounded like more then one person was in there.

“Brock is going to kill you.”

He jumped at Hank sneaking up behind him and spun around towards his twin’s smirking face.

“I think someone else is in there,” he hissed at his brother pointing towards the door.

“No way!”

“Yeah huh! I hear more then one person snoring in there!”

Panic was setting in for Dean imagining someone or something crawling in and getting in bed with their unsuspecting father. It had happened on at least one occasion, Dean was sure but he was too young to remember the details, he just remembered Brock not being pleased about it.

“Well go in there and check then.”

Hank crossed his arms not convinced that their dad was in danger, but Dean was already turning red. Neither were good in a fight and if their dad was in danger, it would just mean they would be too.

“We should go get B---”

Hank didn’t give him a chance to finish opening the door and shoving Dean in making him yell out in surprise at his snickering brother. Dean staggered forward, about to spin around towards his brother and leave before he woke their dad up but found himself standing there, half way in their dad’s room, mouth agape staring at the bed where their father was not alone.

He expected anything except what he found, Mr. Orpheus was holding their dad, pulling his head closer to his bare chest the longer Dean stood there trying to figure out what was going on and if he needed to get Brock.

He just stared at his father’s bare back, still reeling in confusion as he heard Hank moan out with zero impulse control.

“Why is Mr. Orpheus naked in your bed with you??”


	6. The boys P2

When Rusty was a child, he couldn’t recall how old he was, his childhood often lumped together in his mind often smashing traumas together and leaving large grey areas in between. He had found himself in a similar situation the boys were finding themselves in now.

A family meeting after walking in on something they weren’t supposed to. All grouped together awkwardly on the couch. Rusty wearing nothing but his robe, not having much time to get properly dressed with two boys screaming at the top of their lungs, demanding what was going on.

The big difference between what had happened to Rusty and what was happening now was Orpheus hadn’t left, he hadn’t run out of the house giving Rusty’s sons death glares. He sat with them on the couch, drumming his fingers against his lap and giving the boys a large smile, ready to explain everything. Rusty, however, was not. He still felt like that child that walked in on the thing he shouldn’t have, he knew he felt more shame then his own father had felt.

While Jonas had smiled widely and almost bragged to his young child about what had occurred with the woman Rusty had vaguely remembered being married to another man, Rusty was almost pouting. Looking away from his sons, leaning away from Orpheus and leaning heavily on the arm rest. Not sure what to say or if he should say anything.

Rusty wasn’t the only one unwilling to face anyone, Dean sat next to Orpheus, face red and staring down at his shoes. Jumping a little as Orpheus placed a kind hand on his shoulder and reached over and gently, squeezed Rusty’s knee supportively making his disdain drop and a gentle smile take its place.

“This was not how your father and I wished for our relationship to come out.”

Hank however, was head strong and vocal as ever. Rusty and Dean were the passive ones, willing to let anything happen no matter the cost, Hank was always ready to put up a fight. Rusty had no idea where he got it from. Maybe Jonas? Rusty knew in his heart Hank was too naïve and gentle to fully be compared to his grandfather.

“Relationship??? Why the heck would my dad be in a relationship with you and not tell us?”

Rusty pinched the bridge of his nose, why did Hank always have to be difficult about these things?

“Hank,” he sighed out not looking towards his son who was leaning over his brother to glare at him, “My relationship wasn’t really your business.”

“Since when?! When you were going out with that Charlotte lady, you wouldn’t shut up about it!”

“Henry Allen Venture!” Rusty threatened leaning over Orpheus to give his son a warning glare. Byron, being the only adult in this situation, gently pushed his lover back and tried to keep the peace.

“We wanted to be a little more delicate----”

“You put one of your spells on dad!” Hank loudly accused spitting flying in poor Dean’s face and smashing his brother with his weight as he forced himself closer to Orpheus, pointing an accusing finger inches from his face.

“Where do you even come up with these idiotic---”

Rusty had one hand on Dean’s leg now to give him proper support so he could stare down his other son, both glaring at each other. Hank was quick to cut his father off before he could properly go off.

“Why the heck else would you just start dating another man! He slipped you a love potion, just admit it!”

“Let’s all just calm down a moment and we can---”

“No!” father and son cut off poor Orpheus who was taking deep breaths to stop himself from going off on the hot-headed Ventures on top of him arguing.

“STOP IT!”

Dean shoved his brother and father off him, finally done with their childish behavior, jumping up from his spot on the couch and running off to his room.

Rusty got up after that, his teeth grinding and his shoulders tense.

“See what you did? You made your brother cry.”

“It was Dracula’s fault putting a spell on you to get in your bed!” Hank bellowed at his father as he headed towards the door, done fighting with his own son.

Hank glared hard at his father before getting up as well, running up the stairs where his brother had disappeared before him.

“Thaddeus, I think we should all—”

Rusty cut his lover off with holding up his hand and shaking his head firmly.

“I am going to find Brock,” he was already heading towards the front door before anyone could say anything.

“Yes, I think it is a good idea if we all cool down a little before we continue this discussion!”

\----

 

Brock stepped out for just a moment, he didn’t really expect anything bad to happen in his absence. Helper was there to keep the boys in line, Rusty should have tossed Orpheus out the window by now like he used to do with White when he got drunk enough to crawl in bed with him, nothing was going to happen. It wasn’t like Rusty hung over was anything new. The boys weren’t in danger, Rusty wasn’t in danger, nothing was wrong.

Brock sighed shaking his head, he just couldn’t get the thought out of his head something might happen.

He had been feeling that way since the first time he had to deal with Myra, the first time they had lost the boys and he had nearly lost Doc. The Ventures were the most important people in his life and it went beyond his mission with the OSI to keep them safe anymore.

He shook his head, stepping into the hangar, he needed some time away from all this drama. That’s all this new relationship had been, nonstop drama. Rusty’s good mood had just put Brock on edge. Nothing good ever came from Doc’s good moods, when whatever was causing them failed, it just meant he would go into another self-destructive bender of drugs and alcohol.

It happened when he had temporarily pulled the company out of the red with military commissions, it happened when Doc thought he cheated death and he could have his sons back, and it was going to happen when Orpheus got sick of Doc being Doc.

Rusty Venture and emotional break downs was just part of the job, he cared deeply for the man but it could get exhausting.

Brock made a promise after Myra nearly drove the man to suicide, he wasn’t going to let him hurt himself and over the years it had become easier to redirect the situations. Orpheus had no idea what he was getting into and he was just going to make Brock’s job more difficult then it already was.

He was trying to get his mind off the situation, getting supplies out to give his car the oil change he had been meaning to give it for months, trying to get his mind off what Doc would do when Orpheus finally got tired of playing his games when the devil himself walked in.

Doc was already in one of his moods, cursing and slamming the door shut behind him making Brock roll his eyes and toss the tools back down, he was going to have to wait on fixing his car, his family needed him again.

“What’s got you so huffy,” he said side eying the man as he marched over to him, looking about ready to explode.

“Hank thinks Byron has me under some spell,” he groaned out dramatically as ever.

“The boys walk in on you with your boyfriend like I told you they would?”

Rusty dropped the attitude at that, almost sheepishly looking away.

“I’ll talk to Hank,” he said firmly giving Rusty a glare as he stomped by him, “You owe me this time Doc.”

Doc folded his arms, cocking his eyebrow at him, Brock always said that but never wanted anything in return from the man. He had nothing to give and nothing he wanted.

He was going to take care of the problem like he always did because this was his family and he was going to do whatever it took to keep them safe. No matter the cost.


	7. Triana part 1

When Rusty was eight, he had walked in on his father in a compromising position with another man. Not just some strange man he had picked up off the street either like many of the women Rusty found in bed with his father either. This wasn’t someone his father was going to toss out the door the moment he had seen his son standing in the doorway either.

In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact Don Fitzcarraldo was such an observant person, Rusty was almost certain neither would have noticed when Rusty cracked the door open and immediately slammed it shut moments after seeing his father in that position.

Rusty sympathized with his sons on this, maybe he just overlooked a lot of their problems or outright ignored them, but he knew that confusion finding something out about your father you didn’t know before. Finding a close family friend being intimate with him when you probably needed your father.

Rusty was examining each tool Brock had left behind, he needed some busy work while everyone was fighting.

Absently he rubbed his throat and gnawed on his lip, he hated even remembering Don Fitzcarraldo. It was a bitter memory. As much as he thought he cared, he was always going to leave. His promises meant nothing like the rest of team Venture’s promises.

He was examining the schematics for Brock’s beloved car, he knew he wasn’t allowed to touch it, last time he had Brock had thrown a bitch fit. He was handling his problems though, he always wanted to find some way to thank the man. Brock was always forced to clean up his messes and he just never learned how to show gratitude in a healthy way.

Orpheus wasn’t going to leave like Don had, the thought made his heart sink slightly. Don had been sincere too that morning after he walked in on them, holding him close and promising him it wouldn’t happen again (a lie) and how he never wanted to hurt him (another lie).

Was Orpheus going to tell his sons that too and then just disappear? Make their father more unstable after he left?

“Mr. Venture?”

He glanced over his shoulder at Triana Orpheus standing there, looking lost, probably looking for her dad. Rusty knew he should feel more guilty then he usually did that he was the reason her dad hadn’t been home. Maybe it was just in his blood to be a petty asshole, but he often couldn’t empathize with others. A few nights away from her dad at seventeen wasn’t comparable to the shit had to endear much younger than her. 

“Mr. Samson told me to come wait in here with you until…he was done talking to my dad or whatever.” 

“You could have just gone home,” Rusty didn’t know why he was being standoffish with a teenager, he was almost pouting as he continued to sort the parts he would need to complete the task he had set up for himself.

“I could have,” she said tilting her head towards him with a smug smile, “But I was told to make sure you didn’t touch the stupid car. Mr. Samson told me to warn you he would break your fingers.”

Rusty snarled swiping his hand across the work bench and throwing the parts he had previously been planning to use onto the ground. For good measure, he kicked them scattering them farther around the room before just turning an even stare on Triana.

She stared back at him for a moment before he sighed loudly and decided this relationship was happening. HE would have to get used to the girl eventually, he should try now.

“Wanna get breakfast?”

“K…” she said glancing at him in only his bathrobe and the parts he had just childishly scattered around. She shrugged it off and followed Rusty as he walked out of the hanger. 

Rusty found it weird she trusted him enough at all to just leave with him like this, they had been raised in very different environments if she didn’t even reconsider her actions in sliding in the front seat with someone she barely spent time with. Maybe you just looked at the world different and at your father’s friends different when your life wasn’t in constant danger. Maybe this generation was just dense. Rusty didn’t know and maybe didn’t care enough to question further, maybe a little afraid of finding out he was more messed up then he already knew with the answer.

\--- 

The last time Rusty had been stuck in a vehicle with an Orpheus, it felt somehow less awkward then this and they had had a demon driving them to a shady hotel where they would later meet Rusty’s unstable ex.

Her father always had something to say, always had some story or observation to keep the silence at bay but Triana was quiet. It wasn’t like Rusty wasn’t used to the silence, he had learned a long time ago when it was quiet it meant you were safe for now, but this silence wasn’t the comforting kind. It was awkward. Rusty had nothing to say to his new lover’s daughter and he didn’t know why he had volunteered to spend time with her. Another rash decision trying to dodge his own responsibilities.

He just didn’t want to hear Brock’s ‘I told you so’. He didn’t want to deal with the boys’ tantrums or hear about Orpheus’s worries, he just didn’t want to deal with any of it. 

Rusty had once only expected the worse, even tried preparing for it, tried avoiding another trauma. Maybe it was after Myra or after his first suicide attempt, he had just learned to be apathetic towards it all. That’s exactly how he felt about the situation now. If Orpheus was going to leave him, if this breakfast with his daughter was just that big of a disaster, well it was just going to happen.

It was a thirty minute drive to the nearest dinner and that time was spent in silence. Rusty turned on the radio and Triana didn’t complain about the station, so that was the only noise for awhile.

He was thinking of Brock and how he wasn’t going to let him let this go as Stairway to Heaven began to play. Triana’s snarky comment about him hitting the curb hard as he parked sloppily in front of the restaurant snapped his thoughts away from his bodyguard.

He sneered at her, but she wasn’t paying him much mind as she hopped out of the car, neither were talking to the other still as they made their way in. The waitress was giving them both odd looks as she sat them in the corner, obviously not wanting a tip as she continued to stare suspiciously at them.

What a sight they must have been, Rusty and his worn-down secondhand robe and noticeable hang over and Triana being an Orpheus and inheriting that flare for the dramatic.

Rusty ordered coffee and was a little annoyed when Triana ordered some expensive fancy coffee. He sneered at her and she sneered back, grumbling he shouldn’t have invited her if he didn’t want to pay. Triana was an actual teenager, not like his sons who still felt so childish, something Rusty knew was his fault. He knew he had gone wrong as a parent just being around what a healthy, well-adjusted seventeen-year-old looked like.

“So, what’s up with you and my dad?”

Rusty really should have expected this, she wanted to talk about where her dad was going with him so often. She wasn’t a complete idiot or naïve like his own sons. Rusty hadn’t really interacted much with the girl, of course she would only take his pathetic request to run away from his problems to discuss the situation he was avoiding.

She was staring at him, he tried to busy himself with his coffee, adding more sugar then he normally would drink. There was no escaping the critical stare she was giving him, it was so like her dad’s.

“Nothing I would discuss with you,” he was always dismissive and he wasn’t about to start being less so with a teenager making demands from him.

“Uh huh,” Triana didn’t seem convinced but didn’t push it, she seemed as done as Rusty himself was about the situation. He hated explaining himself, he wouldn’t know where to start even if he did want to explain his actions anyway.

“It’s not a big thing, alright?” Rusty hissed at her, but as they settled into an uncomfortable silence and Rusty began furiously messaging at his temples, anyone around them knew that was a lie.

“Uh huh..”

He was being judged by a seventeen year old girl. Someone whose father didn’t even trust enough to not have a babysitter for Christ’s sake, Rusty was moment’s away from exploding but miraculously, he managed to keep his composer. Dumping more sugar into his coffee just to give himself more busy work stirring it faster and faster with his spoon. 

“My dad has been spending way more time with you then usual,” Triana said eying Rusty, “I just thought maybe you guys were like dating or something, but I guess that is kinda dumb.” 

Rusty choked on his coffee at that making everyone in the restaurant stare at him. This morning had started fantastically and was getting better and better by the minute he thought to himself sarcastically.


End file.
